Full On by Caitlyn Willows

you. Someone’s got to take the fall.”
    Phil’s words haunted her. No man likes to put up with the
crap you threw at him during that trial. You kicked his ass all over the place…
It’s the only way for him to win and save face.
    Valerie assumed that defensive pose. This time it was more
to protect her heart than to attack. “You lost the case because you had no
evidence. You lost the case because my client wasn’t guilty. You lost the case
because the people you depended on let you down.”
    “Remember that when they’re dangling money and promises in
front of you.”
    “No worries there. I remember everything . Want a
list?”
    That jerked his pacing to a halt. He met her stare for
stare, no doubt piecing together past events. She wished she could banish those
memories and replace them with the time before.
    “No, I don’t,” he finally said. “Let’s deal with one problem
at a time. The priorities now are keeping Estavarez safe, hooking you up with
transportation and getting your goodies delivered so we can focus on doing the
first two. Agreed?”
    She tilted a nod his way, but when she started to pass he
hooked her arm and pulled her to a stop, anchored her to his body and claimed
her mouth in a deep kiss she wished she could refuse. It melted her anger,
dredged up tears and the emotions that went with them, called to her body in
ways only Russell could fulfill. If only her heart didn’t hurt so much.
    Hot hands palmed her ass. That’s when she managed to wedge
her hands between them and shove some distance between them.
    “You can’t fix what’s wrong between us with sex, Russell.”
She expected him to deny there was a problem. Instead, his shoulders drooped on
a long sigh.
    “I know.” He kissed her forehead. “Come on. One priority at
a time.”
    She didn’t know whether to be sad the highest priority
wasn’t their relationship, or proud that he put the welfare of another person
before anything else.

Chapter Eight
     
    Russell felt like a first-class ass. Nothing was more
important than Valerie. Yet all the crap from the case that had torn them apart
in the first place kept resurfacing. It was as if the gods defied them. Overly
dramatic, but how else was he supposed to feel? The hell of it was, he had only
himself to blame for this latest roadblock. Like that he was throwing the trial
back in her face when the night before he’d lauded her victory with pride in
Dave’s face. The harsh words came from a part of himself Russell wasn’t very
proud to own right now.
    They’d never fought before this damn case. Now it seemed they
did little else. Both of them too competitive, too stubborn to back down. This
latest rumor only added insult to injury. Why couldn’t he treat it like it was?
An unsubstantiated rumor with no evidence to support it. He knew that
answer—because it made perfect sense and would be the kind of political move
for which Dave Deacon was infamous. People up the chain were pissed Russell
lost the trial. They didn’t care that he’d never lost a case before. He’d lost
this one. They couldn’t care less a guilty verdict would have be unjust. All
they wanted was a check in the box to appease the public and to move on.
    “Casey’s going to meet us at the museum.” Valerie dropped
her phone in her purse. “She’s got a place in the desert near Twentynine Palms
we can use and agrees Estavarez’s safety is paramount. She’ll give us the key
then.”
    “Good.” One less thing to worry about. “I’ll drive him up
later. I’ll use your rental car. There’ll be less chance of being followed that
way. No one would expect him to leave with me.”
    “They will if they’re watching his house and see him leave
with you,” she pointed out.
    True. “You or Casey will have to pick him up and take him to
a hotel. Then I’ll sneak him out the back door.”
    “It seems you’ve thought of everything.”
    If only that were true. He spared a glance her way at